Team Citi sponsors Gwen Jorgensen for Olympic run

Waukesha native Gwen Jorgensen will have the backing of the Citigroup during her training for the 2012 Olympics.

The financial services company added the top-ranked triathlete to its Team Citi, which includes 13 Olympic and Paralympic athletes.

“They are individuals, siblings, parents, and veterans selected because they exemplify an unwavering commitment to excellence,” according to an announcement from Citi. “While their journey from ambition to achievement is unique, all are leaders on and off the field of play.”

Jorgensen was an All-American in track and cross country at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and took up the multi-sport pursuit in 2010. She quickly became a national star, and earned a slot on the U.S. Olympic team with a second place finish in the International Triathlon Union Championship race in London in August 2011.

To focus on her training, Jorgensen left her part-time job as a tax accountant with Ernst & Young in Milwaukee and spent the winter in Florida.

"It is a blessing to have a corporate sponsor, and I'm extremely excited about partnering with Citi's Paralympic and Olympic Team,” she said in an email. “Citi is sponsoring some non-mainstream sports, such as triathlon and it brings credibility and visibility to our sports, which is very important along our journeys. It is a huge honor to be a part of Team Citi.”

Gwen Jorgensen celebrates her race to the Olympics.
Photo courtesy of USA Triathlon

Gwen, I realize the sponsorship is too tempting to pass up, but it makes me cringe to see you accepting money from a parasite like Citi. They, along with the rest of Wall Street, are directly and intentionally responsible for the global f*ckup that has shattered lives and brought the middle class to their knees. As a tax accountant, you of all people should know this. Yet you still take their money (actually, the tax payer's money) and consider it an honor? An honor?! Really? Are you not familiar with MERS, MBS, CDS, robosigning, etc ad nausem? Read Karl Denninger, Matt Taibbi, and Zero Hedge to see for yourself how utterly corrupt Citi is.